New Works In Progress: NEXT THING YOU KNOW

An interview with John Simpkins, Artistic Director, of TriArts Sharon Playhouse as they prepare to produce Next Thing You Know, by Fest Alumni Joshua Salzman and Ryan Cunningham (both, Fest '05-I Love You Because). Next Thing You Know was developed at CAP21 thanks to a Project Development Grant from our National Fund for New Musicals.

Next Thing You Know is the story of fourNew Yorkers as they laugh, love and drink their way through the big questions that face all young dreamers who wake up in the city that never sleeps. Does marrying a really nice guy mean you're settling down or just settling? Does taking a nine-to-five equal giving up or growing up? Does a decade in the city break you down or break you in?

Sharon Playhouse has recently embarked on presenting new musicals. Why do you think it is important for your theatre to present pre-existing shows alongside new musicals during your summer season? 
Part of our mission at the Sharon Playhouse is to celebrate and nurture emerging as well as established artists. We are excited to add writers and new musicals to this focus. It is our hope that we can begin commissioning new works in addition to presenting new musicals that have already been in development and might be looking for further development and/or productions.

You have a long history with Next Thing You Know starting with directing the first workshop of it back in 2007. How has the show changed since that first presentation at NYU Steinhardt? 
We did the first workshop presentation of the show in October 2007, with some of my students at NYU Steinhardt. At the time, it was a collection of songs without a specific book—all centered around the time in one's life where the dreams and plans you make as a young 20-something aren't necessarily turning out the way you thought. The show always felt like it was wanting a stronger and more specific structure to these songs that seemed to really speak to people. Ryan and Josh went back and began to add a book to surround the songs. All three of us were initially suspicious of this exercise—thinking it might feel ultimately

Festival Show Update: FUNKED UP FAIRY TALES

An interview with Shami McCormick, Artistic Director, of The Depot Theatre in Westport, NY as they prepare for the first full production of Kirsten Childs' Funked Up Fairy Tales, from our 2012 Festival, this summer.

Funked Up Fairy Tales—a collection of delightfully twisted urban fairy tales for sophisticated children and grown-up kids—welcomes you to the world of Titania, Faireetheeya and Magikwanda, teenage fairies with attitude. They wag their heads and suck their teeth as they turn things upside down to pass their Fairyland Academy exam. Will they pull through with flying colors and earn their Happy Ending Crowns?

What drew The Depot Theatre to Funked Up Fairy Tales?
We sat down [at the Festival] not knowing what to expect and in seconds were completely entranced by the piece (as was everyone around us)!  You could feel Kirsten’s sense of delight, her heart  and commitment in every element of the script and score. The piece seemed poised for a collaborative, artistic experience that could bring Kirsten’s vision to first fruition; a production in a place that could embrace and celebrate both the writer and the work and give the piece a team to develop it for a continuing future. We felt The Depot Theatre could be that place and are so honored to have this wonderful work in our season!

Why is the show a great match for your audience?
When it comes to musicals we have a multi-generational demographic that appreciates the classics of the American musical canon and more contemporary fare.  They like the intimacy of our space, how much a part of a production it makes them feel and how

New Work in Progress: BETTY BLUE EYES

An article from Wayne Bryan, Producing Artistic Director, of Music Theatre of Wichita as they prepare to produce the American premiere of Betty Blue Eyes.

Betty Blue Eyes is a highly original and very funny new musical which opened on the West End in 2011, and is making its American debut this summer at Music Theatre of Wichita, July 24-28. 

Set in 1947 England, when Princess Elizabeth’s forthcoming royal wedding is to be the cause for nationwide celebratory banquets, a meat-deprived village wages internal subterfuge to abscond with a prize pig named Betty.

With a clever libretto by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, Betty Blue Eyes is based on the Maggie Smith and Michael Palin film, A Private Function, screenplay by Alan Bennett. The tuneful new score is by NAMT Festival alumni George Stiles (Honk! and The Three Musketeers, both Fest '99) and Anthony Drewe (Honk!, Fest ‘99), whose other works include Just So and the new material in the stage version of Mary Poppins.

After the 1999 Festival presentation of Honk!, several NAMT theatres expressed an interest in producing it, including Music Theatre of Wichita.  Our transatlantic communications with authors George and Anthony quickly blossomed into an international friendship. This was solidified when MTWichita, with the writers' blessings, produced and distributed the American Cast Album of Honk! in 2001.

George and Anthony, along with licensing house Music Theatre International, subsequently credited the well-received album as one of the show's best marketing tools. Hundreds of Honk! productions followed the Festival presentation and the release of the

From the New Works Director: Getting ready to celebrate 25 years of the NAMT Festival!

It is a big year for NAMT and our Festival of New Musicals (Fest #25!), and we plan on celebrating in style! If you have not heard already, we will present a special benefit concert two days after the Festival on October 20th. In the last 24 years, we have presented 211 shows by 410 writers-that's a lot to be proud of and we want to SHOW OFF! (which also happens to be the title of the benefit!).

Unfortunately, we will not be able to do a song from every musical as that would be a 14-hour show. But we are assembling a 90-minute star- and song-packed concert that will show not just what we have done, but also what we have started. The benefit will be a celebration of NAMT, our founders, our leaders, our writers, our shows, our impact and, most importantly, our future.

I hope that all of you will mark your calendars now (I will wait while you get out a pen or double click on your calendar) for:

25th Festival of New Musicals: October 17 & 18
Fall Conference: October 19 & 20 (portions will be open to alumni)
SHOW OFF! Benefit concert: October 20 at 7pm at the NYU Skirball Center

We can't wait for these 4 days of celebration, discovery, dialogue and catching up. I hope to see all of you there as we honor you and the great work of this small but mighty organization that, in 1989, had the simple idea of gathering together theatres and producers from around the country to share great new musicals in development.

My, how far we have come, but we are only just getting started. 

Festival Show Update: NOBODY LOVES YOU

An interview with Itamar Moses, one of the writers (along with Gaby Alter) of 2012 Festival Show Nobody Loves You, about the show's path so far and what to expect as it heads Off Broadway this summer to Second Stage. The show is a past recipient of a Project Development Grant from our National Fund for New Musicals for its development at The Old Globe.

The new musical comedy Nobody Loves You follows a philosophy grad student who auditions for—and surprisingly finds himself cast on—a reality TV dating show, all in an attempt to win back his ex-girlfriend. But when an unexpected on-set love connection threatens to ruin his plan, manufactured drama collides with real emotion in this original new musical.

What was the industry's response to your show at the Festival?  
Whole-hearted praise. Worship really. It was mayhem. The ghost of Oscar Hammerstein rose from the grave and placed a mantle labeled 'The Future of Musical Theatre' on my and Gaby's shoulders. Or, whatever, people seemed to like it okay.

What has changed with the show since being at The Old Globe last year and being at the Festival?
We came away from The Old Globe wanting to replace some songs, clarify and sharpen certain elements of the story, improve some jokes, and take some time off the show. That process had already begun by the time we did the Festival, so we got to hear some new versions of scenes and try out one of our new songs. We're even farther along in that process now. A bunch of stuff has been rewritten, we've replaced two songs and cut two others entirely, on top of streamlining certain aspects of the book. Musicals are very, very tricky and I expect we'll be working right up until they make us stop.
 
The show is about to premiere Off Broadway at Second Stage Theatre this summer. How has your approach to the show changed going from an in-the-round space in San Diego to a traditional proscenium in New York?

National Fund for New Musicals recipients announced!

We are honored to announce this year's recipients of our National Fund for New Musicals grants. Now in its fifth year, the National Fund has distributed 56 grants totaling $234,000 to non-profit member theatres around America.

A special thanks to our funders including Stacey Mindich Productions, The Alhadeff Family Charitable Foundation and The ASCAP Foundation. This fund would not be possible without their contributions. If you are interested in supporting theatres developing new musicals around the country, please consider making a contribution to our National Fund for New Musicals.

National Fund grants of $10,000 to support full productions have been awarded to:
Barrington Stage Company (Pittsfield, MA) for Southern Comfort by Dan Collins and Julianne Wick Davis. This project previously received a Project Development Grant in support of its time at CAP21, a Writers Residency Grant for its time at Playwrights Horizons and was presented in NAMT's 2012 Festival of New Musicals.
Transport Group (New York, NY) for The Memory Show by Sara Cooper and Zachary Redler, with support from Stacey Mindich Productions. The Memory Show was presented in NAMT's 2009 Festival of New Musicals. 

National Fund grants between $2,500 and $5,000 to support a workshop or reading have been awarded to:

New Works in Progress: NEXT series at Theater Latté Da

An interview with Peter Rothstein, Artistic Director of Theater Latté Da about the launch of their new NEXT series developing new musicals in Minneapolis, Minnesota, next month.

Theater Latté Da will cap its 15th Anniversary Season by launching the major new works initiative NEXT. The inaugural season will feature readings of three new ventures into musical storytelling in various stages of development at The Lab Theater in Minneapolis’ historic warehouse district. NEXT will provide Twin Cities audiences the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the creative process and witness new musicals in the making. The musicals are When the Moon Hits Your Eye by Jon Marans; C. by Bradley Greenwald, Robert Elhai & Peter Rothstein; and Bessie’s Birthday by Kate Baldwin Eng & Jeff Tang.

Why did Theater Latté Da decide to start a new work festival?
Theater Latté Da's mission is to explore and expand the art of musical theater. Launching a program that gives playwrights, composers and lyricists the opportunity to experiment is central to fulfilling our mission; shepherding new works from incubation to full production is a priority for our organization. We also want to be part of the national dialogue around the future of the American Musical Theater and have an impact on the next generation.

Why do you think Minneapolis is a great place to test out new works?
Minneapolis is home to one of the largest and most vibrant theater communities in the country. We have an incredible pool of talent in the Twin Cities, thinking artists who can bring talent, skill and insight to the development process. We also have a loyal and adventurous audience who I believe can play a vital role in moving a show to the next level.

This is the Festival's first year. What will the programming of NEXT look like?